The Final Meeting
by MuggleBorn92
Summary: She didn't wanted it to be this way. With the world on the brink of chaos, Hermione tries one last time to find a peaceful solution for Britain...


**The Final Meeting**

At the moment, nothing was more frightening to her than this. She wouldn't admit it, wouldn't show it but she was afraid. As Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and into the office of the Prime Minister, she had to think back on the debate, if you could even call it that, that loud roaring of wizarding leaders fearing for their loss of power at the International Confederation of Wizard's HQ in Paris.

One incident five years ago had led to all this. And Hermione had been determined to calm the other leaders down, had tried again and again to argue rationally. War was the least that anyone wanted...or so she thought. Had it been like this, 300 years ago? When the first gathering of the ICW took place debating whether to stand their ground and fight for their freedom or to give in an hide from view? Many had called her a traitor for advocating for peaceful negotiations with the Muggles and had demanded loyalty! After all she had fought for with Harry and Ron, after all their efforts in the British Ministry of Magic, after Wizarding Britain had come to be an example to other wizarding governments – she still had to face witches and wizards putting their own blood in favour of at least try and find a peaceful solution.

Images of Rose flashed in her head boarding the Hogwarts express, off to her first year at school just a few months ago, already in her school robes just as Hermione herself had done so long ago...and she remembered Kingsley filling her in on the duties as Minister for Magic, consulting her by telling her of the hard decisions he had to make as the wizarding world seemed to be harder to hide than ever. And now she had taken over from him. Had continued his work in reforming the wizarding society of Britain. Enslavement of House-elves was illegal now here as was the denial of offering wands to magical beings. There was even a chance of allowing underage wizards to perform magic in their own home whether magical or not, something that countries like Germany had already practised for decades.

The Prime Minister looked up from her desk. Her grey hair and her sharp features reminded Hermione of Professor McGonagall somehow. Clearing her throat, Hermione slowly moved forward and finally looked the Muggle woman in her eyes.

"We've...we didn't manage to find a solution, Prime Minister," she told her. "There's no telling in what'll happen now...some wizarding leaders want to declare war to the non-magical people! Others want harsher methods of secrecy..."

Hermione shook her head and paced around uneasily.

"300 years...300 years of hiding, of trying to separate our cultures, of hiding evidence of magic to prevent exactly this!"

She breathed heavily and looked the Prime Minister into the eyes.

"How will _you_ decide, Mrs. Granger?" the Prime Minister asked refusing as ever to call her "Minister". They hadn't exactly seen eye to eye even though the Prime Minister had shown to understand the situations Hermione found herself in whenever she had to report to her Muggle counterpart.

Hermione remained silent. Shaking her head, she finally said: "The only thing I still can do...to ask you to work with us."

"I'm sorry?!" the Prime Minister gasped.

Hermione stepped closer to her.

"Please, we need to stand together on this! Germany is in chaos, France is practically swarming with its military, the United States are on the brink of their second civil war and China already breaks apart after what happened in Beijing!"

"All because of you people!" the Prime Minister suddenly screamed. "You caused the world to break! I can't even reach half of my counterparts because the lines are dead. Who knows what has happened to them."

Now she was stepping closer to Hermione.

"You ask me to stand together on this? You've come far too late for this, Mrs. Granger, the war has already been declared from the moment those governments fell! Look at Beijing: all 3000 members of the National People's Congress burned to their death, the White House just vanishing into nothing and don't get me talking about Berlin! How long before Britain gets thrown into the chaos as well?"

Hermione's lips became narrow and she stepped away from the Prime Minister. What was loyalty, she asked herself. Was this loyalty? It was the least she wanted to do. She never asked for this! But she had been ready for this.

"There is still time to save what we have, Prime Minister, if we act quickly! We've had worse, both of our communities!"

The Prime Minister shook her head.

"You leave me with no other choice, Mrs. Granger," she said quickly and subtly pressing a button. Hermione knew what it meant. But she remained calm and didn't draw her wand. The door to the office broke open and PaDP officers burst inside weapons drawn. Hermione couldn't help but raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Seriously? You're going to arrest me?"

"I've declared a state of National Emergency and am considering your people a terrorist threat," the Prime Minister said. Her personal bodyguard had entered first and was now shielding her.

"Don't move!" one of the guards shouted.

Hermione raised her hands. With a serious gaze at the Prime Minister, she said:

"I'm sorry that we couldn't have come to a better understanding, Prime Minister. Well, good luck to you. You're still thinking the conventional way. We're not so easily caught. Remember that."

And with a slight tilt of her head, she vanished. The PaDP officers lowered their guns in surprise and the PM's bodyguard went to close the door. With his back to the others, he took out his wand and flattened the door knobs. Turning to the Prime Minister and the officers, he raised his wand. With a flash but without noise, white smoke appeared in the room and then one after the other, the Muggles collapsed under the stunning spell...


End file.
